Golden Globe winner portrays squalid world of Roman high society

(ANSA) - Los Angeles, January 16 - Italian director Paolo
Sorrentino's The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) was among the
films nominated for the best foreign film Academy Award on
Thursday, just three days after winning the best foreign film
award at the Golden Globes.

Italians are now hoping the movie will give the country its
first Oscar since Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful 15 years
ago.
The Great Beauty is about the squalid world of Roman high
society as seen through the eyes of a culture critic played by
acclaimed Italian actor Toni Servillo, a veteran of five
Sorrentino films.

It is one of the most decorated films in Italy so far this
year, having taken home five awards from Italy's Nastri
d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) honors and the best cinematography
prize at the Globi d'Oro, Italy's Golden Globes, as well as this
week's Golden Globe - the first won by an Italian film since
Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso in 1989.

The Hollywood Reporter called the film "an amusing update
on Italian society at the end of a cycle" that recalled the
"magical atmosphere" of cinematic icon Federico's Fellini's
'Roma' and 'La Dolce Vita'.

On Monday Sorrentino said he would do "everything" to boost
the film's chances at the Academy Awards, including hosting
special screenings, dinners, and other promotions.